Church Resource Page

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
~Isaiah 58:10

Hope Ministries is excited that more and more churches throughout Iowa are partnering with us as we provide basic necessities and Christ-centered life recovery programs for homeless and hurting men, women and children. We encourage you and your church to consider how God can use your body of believers to serve in the mission field here in your own backyard.

• A Letter to Your Church Leadership
• New Outreach Opportunities!
• Bulletin and Newsletter Announcements
• A Case for Compassion for Small Groups
• New Resources for your church
• How Can Our Church Get Involved?
• Hope for the Homeless Campaign
• More Ways Your Church Can Get Involved!
• Soles for Souls – Ongoing Used Shoe Drive

A Letter to Your Church Leadership

Dear Mission Partners,

Is your church seeking opportunities to reach out to the homeless and hungry in the mission field here in Iowa? Do you have small groups of youth and/or adults who are seeking short-term service and mission options close to home?

If so, our Web site's new Church Resource Page is meant to introduce you to or reacquaint you with Hope Ministries—one of Iowa's oldest and largest Christ-centered and privately funded ministries offering food, clothing, shelter and recovery to the least, the last and the lost.

Hope Ministries is a unique ministry. We are more than just a hand-out organization; we have a hand-up philosophy of ministry. Our continuum-of-care recovery programs for homeless men, women and children are one of a kind. We seek to stop the cycle of homelessness by helping the addicted, displaced and discouraged from all over the state find hope and healing through life-skills training and spiritual growth.

The need is great and growing! The number of meals we are serving is staggering—over 11,000 a month! That's an increase of more than 1,000 per month over last year. The number of shelter bed nights we are providing has increased to over 4,500 per month. We need volunteers to help!

We need the partnership of churches to address the growing number of homeless. We need God's people to help us do God's work. That's why we are offering numerous educational resources and hands-on outreach opportunities for your body of believers to get involved.

Hope Ministries offers one-time and ongoing service opportunities. In addition, we have developed one- to three-day, short-term mission trips to Des Moines for church groups throughout the state, where we put your group to work in this mission field so close to home. We make your experience at Hope Ministries educational, inspiring and life changing.

I hope you'll take time to explore the numerous new outreach, volunteer and service opportunities we have available for your members who want to live out their faith.

We are praying your church will explore an expanded role in helping us tend to the needs of the homeless.


New Outreach Opportunities!

Fill a Plate with Hope Sunday during Scan Away Hunger 2008
Scan Away Hunger 2008 begins the day after Thanksgiving and runs through Christmas Day. This outreach, along with the caring community and church members in Central Iowa will help Hope Ministries provide food and support for hundreds of homeless and hungry men, women and children! Click here to learn more about Scan Away Hunger.

We invite churches to participate in this year's Scan Away Hunger by sponsoring "Fill a Plate with Hope Sunday" on Sunday, December 7. Your church can order Scan Away Hunger plates by clicking here, by calling (515) 265-7272 or emailing info@hopeiowa.org.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Opportunities

Each year hundreds of volunteers from churches all over Iowa get involved in our special Thanksgiving and Christmas events. More than 200 volunteers will help us serve meals onsite at our Hope Café as well as deliver over 1,000 meals to those unable to come out on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Currently, our most pressing holiday needs are for people to provide food donations and participate in our Adopt-A-Brother and Adopt-A-Family programs! Please feel free to learn more about these outreach opportunities by visiting our 2008 holiday page.

Service and Mission (SAM) teams
Are members of your church looking for a unique “hands-on” opportunity to visit and bless the homeless in Des Moines? Each Saturday, Hope Ministries takes groups to visit the homeless tent camps along the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, experience standing in a soup kitchen line, eat at our Hope Café and volunteer at our Hope Bargain Center. You can learn more about SAM team opportunities by clicking here, calling (515) 265-7272 or emailing info@hopeiowa.org.

Soles for Souls — Sponsor a year-round used shoe drive for Hope Ministries
Recycling is one of the many ways individuals, businesses, churches and organizations can help us generate financial support. We invite your church to adopt our unique year-round “Soles for Souls” used shoes recycling program. We provide a recycled cardboard barrel labeled “Soles for Souls.” Your church encourages members to recycle (donate) their slightly used shoes by dropping them in your “Soles for Souls” barrel. Then you can call or e-mail us whenever your barrel is filled to schedule a pick-up. Our “Soles for Souls” volunteers will come by to pick up your shoe donation and deliver them to our Hope Recycling Center.


Hope Ministries welcomes IMPACT teens
Dozens of teens and their youth group sponsors will be volunteering at Hope Ministries on Saturday, January 3rd, as part of the Evangelical Free Church's annual IMPACT youth conference in Des Moines. Will your youth group be in Des Moines that day? If so, click here to learn about how you can spend a few hours of your weekend making an impact on Central Iowa's homeless and hungry.


Bulletin and Newsletter Announcements

We welcome you to include the following announcements in your church's bulletin or newsletter:

Souper Bowl Sunday: Souper Bowl Sunday is a souper-simple donation drive for canned soup for Hope Ministries! Our church will be collecting cans of SOUP KIND on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, which will be used to feed the homeless and hungry at Hope Ministries. Please see your Church Ambassador with questions or visit www.hopeiowa.org.

Green Bean Sunday: Our church is sponsoring Green Bean Sunday on Sunday, March 1. We will be collecting cans of green beans which will be used to feed the homeless and hungry at Hope Ministries in Des Moines. Hope Ministries serves more than 11,000 meals each month! Please see your Church Ambassador with questions or visit www.hopeiowa.org.

Hearts for Hope Women's Tea: Hope Ministries will be hosting its Sixth Annual Hearts for Hope Women's Tea on Saturday, May 9, at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines. This free event is a benefit for Hope Family Center, a long-term residential and life recovery center for homeless mothers and children. The luncheon and program entitled "Living a Life of Hope" begins at 11 a.m. with keynote speaker Mary Kay Mueller. Reservations are required. To reserve your spot — or to sign up to be a table hostess — contact Melissa Tagg, event coordinator, at (515) 265-7272 or mtagg@hopeiowa.org, or visit www.hopeiowa.org.


New Resources for Your Church

We have several new resources that can help your church learn about and connect with Hope Ministries!

• Hope for the Homeless DVD: Our Hope for the Homeless DVD is an excellent education and awareness resource that can be shown during worship, Sunday school, mission board and small group meetings. The words of Jesus from Matthew 25 are depicted throughout the video while showing actual footage of homeless tent camps, meals, shelters, recovery programs and volunteers.
• "A Case for Compassion" Study Guide for Small Groups: Moving people from contempt and condemnation to compassion is an ongoing challenge in our ministry. Our new compassion study guide was developed to facilitate discussion regarding homelessness and our responsibility as Christians to reach out to the "least of these." The three-part series provides biblical references, questions, and individual and group empathy exercises. This resource can be helpful for sermons, Sunday schools and small groups. Coming Soon! Our study guide will soon be available on our Web site for downloading in pdf format.
• Hope's Helper E-bulletin for Churches, Ambassadors and Other Mission Partners: Periodically we send out an e-bulletin to hundreds of churches, ambassadors and other partners which outlines our current needs, volunteer, outreach and employment opportunities. We invite you to keep your church in the communication loop and receive this e-mail announcement. You can register your church to receive this informative and useful resource by filling out our registration form.

To order a DVD or "A Case for Compassion" study guide, feel free to call (515) 265-7272 or e-mail info@hopeiowa.org


How Can Our Church Get Involved?

Do members of your church congregation have a heart for the homeless and hungry here in Iowa? Listed below are suggested first steps to introduce your church to Hope Ministries and to explore potential outreach, volunteer and mission involvement opportunities.

Step One: Review Our Website
Our award-winning Web site provides a comprehensive outline of our facilities, programs and services. This is a good first step in discovering the scope of our outreach in central Iowa.

Step Two: Your pastor and/or church leadership are invited to attend our Leadership Lunch and Learn.
Leadership Lunch and Learns are held on the first Thursday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The agenda includes sharing in a community lunch in our Hope Café, located at our Bethel Mission facility, followed by a facility tour and one-on-one question and answer time with both our community relations officer and church relations coordinator.

Step Three: Attend a Community Awareness Tour
Community Awareness Tours are held on the second and third Wednesdays of each month at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. During your tour you will have the opportunity to see Hope Ministries in action firsthand and view all of our facilities.

Step Four: Invite a Hope Ministries Speaker to your church
Hope Ministries can send a representative to speak at your Sunday morning worship or other church functions. Our speakers often invite one of our recovery graduates to attend and share his or her testimony. Videos and display boards as well as materials to hand out are also available upon request.

Step Five: Designate a Hope's Ambassador or Ambassador Team
Hope Ambassadors serve as the "Voice of the Hope Ministries" for their congregation. Ambassadors act as a liaison to coordinate communication between Hope Ministries and your church regarding volunteer, outreach and mission partnership opportunities. Click here to learn more.

Step Six: Become a King's Closet Church
Hope Ministries' King's Closet program is a year-round outreach providing free clothing to individuals and families. The purpose of King's Closet is to serve God by ministering to the material needs of the impoverished in Des Moines and central Iowa and to extend our outreach to area agencies and churches serving the disadvantaged. Vouchers for free clothing are available through authorized King's Closet agencies and churches. Authorized King's Closet agencies must have a Hope Ambassador. Click here to learn more.

Step Seven: Schedule a Service and Mission Team experience
Held every Saturday, Service and Mission (SAM) teams allow church groups to experience a little bit of everything: a two-hour work-group project, standing in the lunch line with members of the Des Moines community and sharing in our community meal at our Hope Café, hearing a testimony from one of our recovery graduates, learning about homelessness in Iowa, a tour of the largest emergency shelter for homeless men in Iowa and a hands-on visit to homeless tent camps here in Des Moines. Click here to learn more.

Step Eight: Order our "Hope for the Homeless" DVD (video)
Call or e-mail us to order our DVD (6:34 minutes) to play during your worship service or for other church functions to educate your members about our Christ-centered ministry to the homeless and hungry here in Iowa. Call 265-7272 or e-mail info@hopeiowa.org.


Hope for the Homeless Campaign

Most people are pleasantly surprised to hear we do not seek or accept any government funding that would compromise our Christ-centered mission. We are supported solely on private donations. You might be a church that is already partnering with our ministry to the homeless and we thank you for your faithful and consistent support. Other churches may be hearing about us for the first time and would welcome and opportunity to include us in their mission support.

Our Hope for the Homeless Campaign is an opportunity for churches to partner with us in addressing the growing need and expanding our outreach to the homeless now and in the future. We understand we are not the only organization worthy of your financial support, but we hope you will consider including us in your missions or benevolence budge each year thereby providing partnership support for our Hope for the Homeless Campaign. We are available to make an on-site presentation at your missions board or elders meetings and address any questions you may have. In addition, we can schedule a special church leadership Lunch and Learn event at one of our shelter or recovery facilities in Des Moines or at your church.

To learn more about our Hope for the Homeless Campaign, please call Chief Development Officer David Burrier at (515) 265-7272. Thank you!


More Ways Your Church Can Get Involved!

• Remember Hope Ministries, our shelter and recovery residents, staff and volunteers in your church prayers.
• Consider how our ministry to the homeless and hungry might fit within your annual mission's budget.
• Consider adding a link to our Web site (www.hopeiowa.org) on your church's Web site.
• Encourage your members to become involved as volunteers! Click here to learn about our many volunteer opportunities.
• Invite Hope Ministries to bring a display for your church's "Missions Sunday."
• Sponsor an annual Hope Sunday and invite us to bring a resident to speak about what it means to be homeless and hopeless.
• Sponsor a clothing or food drive for our clothes closet and meals programs. Click here to learn more about donation drives.
• Adopt a room at our Hope Family Center.
• Encourage members to join our Hope Prayer Team.
• Sign up your church to volunteer at our Hope Bargain Center.
• Sign up your church to provide a once-a-month meal at our Hope Family Center.
• Ask us about how your church can lead a 30-minute evening chapel at our Bethel Mission facility.
• Encourage your men to volunteer to be a mentor for one of our residents at our Door of Faith men's recovery center or for children at Hope Family Center.